NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Academy offered its third knowledge-sharing course at the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., from Dec. 6-8. "Power and Avionics: Learning from the Past and Looking to the Future with Robert Kichak and Colleagues" focused on electrical systems, power, avionics and troubleshooting. The course was given by NESC Discipline Expert (NDE) Robert Kichak.

Image Left: Participants in the NESC's third knowledge-sharing course at the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., pose with Robert Kichak who presented the lecture "Power and Avionics: Learning for the Past and Looking to the Future.". Photo courtesy of the NESC.


Mr. Kichak discussed lessons learned, do's & don'ts, and the victim-source-coupling troubleshooting approach. Twenty-nine students representing electrical engineering disciplines at several NASA Centers, such as Goddard, Marshall, Johnson, Glenn and Headquarters, attended the course. They received additional expert insight from Mitch Davis (chief engineer of GSFC Electrical Systems Branch), Normal Heilmold (member of the Parts, Packaging, and Assembly Technologies Office of GSFC Electrical Engineering Division) and Richard Katz (lead of a team of electrical engineers specializing in digital systems for Space Flight from the NASA Office of Logic Decision). Other faculty supporting Mr. Kichak via videotaped sessions were Ray Ladbury (radiation effects expert from GSFC) and David Israel (member of the NESC Power and Avionics SPRT). Scott Kniffen provided a virtual tour of the Radiation Lab at Goddard Space Center. Richard White and Tony Miller provided subject matter expertise to the curriculum development team lead by Irma Bradley and Terry Alston.

Robert Kichak has worked at NASA for 40 years. He was instrumental in development of DC-to-DC power converters, contributed to the multi-mission modular spacecraft (MMS) project and has been the lead in the development of power electronics for COBE and GRO EGRET instruments. He has chaired or served on numerous anomaly-resolution and technical-review teams.

The NESC Academy was established to capture, share and preserve the lifetimes of experience and knowledge of NASA's senior scientists and engineers; guide the next generation of NASA scientists and engineers as they develop expertise in technical problem solving; and foster interest in NASA careers. NESC, the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), and CIBER partner work collaboratively to design, develop, and deliver the three-day classroom experiences led by selected NDEs.

The Academy will offer 15 courses in total, each focusing on a specific SPRT discipline area such as flight sciences, propulsion, robotic flight operations and human factors. The next course will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park from Feb. 28-March 2. The NDE for this course is Mr. Cornelius Dennehy, a recognized expert in satellite attitude control systems. For more information on the NESC Academy, please visit www.nescacademy.org.

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